The League [Phan AU]

Chapter 3

When Dan awoke that morning he left his bedroom to find it was much earlier than he liked. Phil probably wouldn't be up for hours, and the same with Tyler. His bare feet didn't even flinch as they came in contact with the cold floor, but Dan wrapped his arms around his bare torso to keep from shivering.
He decided to look at the folder he had been given that would tell him what his mission was. Inside was a dossier of a man named Wilford Avery. He was of Indian descent, and had been a scientist before turning to the black market for money. His specialty was bombs. Dan looked for his job description, finding only a note with the words "do your thing." His "thing" was torturing until information came out. The League wanted to know who he had sold a certain bomb to.
As Dan closed the folder he heard the padding of footsteps. He looked up and was greeted by the sight of Phil. Dan watched him walk to the counter and start making himself breakfast.
"I read the info for our mission," Dan told him as he sat across from him. Phil replied with a nod as he ate a spoonful of cereal. "I was thinking we could just get it over with tonight."
"Sounds good, what do we have to do?"
"Make the bird squawk," Dan replied. The sentence was their code word for Dan's specialty. It wasn't a good ability, but one Dan was proud of. His father hadn't him taught him that, and that's what made it better than any other skill he had. His father could skillfully shoot a gun and kill a person in a hundred different ways, but he couldn't torture someone. His victim would always die before he got the information he needed. Dan didn't know why he could do it so well. Maybe it was a mix of skills from what his father had taught him, or maybe he was just a complete psychopath. Dan wanted it to be the first option, but he knew better.
-
Dan and Phil went with Tyler to the Hideout, splitting with him when they saw their trainees huddled together near the gun range.
The young recruits all stood up and formed a line when they saw the two coming near. Phil smiled at Alex, the small, blue haired girl who sat with him the day before.
"We're starting hand to hand combat today," Dan said to them, watching each of their faces. The other girl in the group, who had half her hair dyed green, smirked at the announcement. "Pair up and follow us to the mats."
Dan stood with Phil on the matted surface. Once the trainees were lined up he turned to Phil, both of them raising their fists and squaring their shoulders.
"Allow us to demonstrate a good fight," Dan said, smirking at his partner. When they were young one of their favorite activities was fighting one another hand to hand, face to face. It usually led to them passionately making out in the showers as they washed away the sweat and blood.
Since Dan was the biggest of the two, Phil always punched first. He swung his fist at Dan's face, but the blow was blocked by Dan's arm. In return Dan used his free hand to punch Phil's side, earning a grunt from both of them.
Phil kicked Dan's legs out from under him, and when he was on the floor Phil kicked him again in the stomach. Dan grabbed at Phil's legs, and pulled him down to the floor with him.
The two rolled around the floor, trying to be on top. Phil found himself with the upper hand, and he pinned Dan's arms above his head. He used his feet to pin Dan's legs down.
Their faces were just inches from each other. They could feel each other's heavy breathing. Dan smiled slightly as he looked up at Phil's face.
"It's weird seeing you on top," Dan joked, earning an eye roll from Phil who got off of him and helped him up. They turned to the trainees, each of them watching them differently. The blue haired girl was smiling softly.
"Your turn," Dan said to them.
-
As midnight arrived Dan and Phil left their home for the League's garage. They rented out a black van with no license plate and headed to the place Wilford Avery, they were hoping, would be found.
They camped in the van for a few minutes before they saw the man walking down the sidewalk. Dan climbed into the back of the van, pulling his mask over his face. He opened the doors up wide, spilling some chloroform onto a cloth.
When Avery stepped a few feet from Dan, he jumped out from behind the van and grabbed the man. He wrestled with him, the guy trying to wiggle free from Dan's grasp. He quickly placed the cloth over his mouth and nose. Soon Avery grew limp in his arms and Phil ran out of the van to help Dan get him into the back.
-
They had driven to an abandoned parking garage, where they tied Avery to a chair and set up Dan's tools on either side. As the man started to wake up Dan took position in front of him. Phil stood behind Dan, not too close to where everything would go on in case he had to slip away. Large amounts of blood made him uneasy sometimes.
"Where am I?" Avery asked when he completely opened his eyes.
"That's not important," Dan replied shortly. "I need you to answer every question I ask you."
"And if I don't?" the man challenged.
"Look to your right," Dan answered. "Or to your left. Either work."
"I'm not going to tell you anything."
"We'll see about that."
Dan shot a glance at Phil, who nodded in response. Dan picked up a knife from the table to his right, twirling it nonchalantly. He looked at the man through hooded eyes and in one quick motion, brought the knife right to the man's neck. He held there, right where he wouldn't prick the man's skin.
Phil looked away. There were two things he hated about these kind of jobs: the blood, and Dan. His boyfriend could be a different person sometimes. He could be ruthless and cold, which he wasn't usually. Dan was sweet and a good partner, who spoiled Phil to no end. Phil loved him, but not when he was like his father. The day Phil moved in with the Howells was the day his life changed forever.
Dan's dad had always scared Phil somewhat when he was young. He had an air about him that made him seem like someone you didn't want to cross. At home he appeared like a normal father, but at the Hideout he changed. He would scream and hit Dan and Phil, always trying to get them to be better. The man's standards affected Dan more, but his methods did more to Phil.
Phil had grown afraid of the man's eyes, so full of rage and hatred. He had grown afraid of his limbs, for when they reached out it was never for a good reason. He had even grown afraid of his voice, that was always too loud, or too angry.
As Phil stepped out into the fresh air he let the cold surround him. He let it embrace his face and clean him of the blistering heat on the inside.
It felt like forever, the time that he stood there, staring at the stars, but it was only half an hour or so. Phil didn't hear Dan come outside, so it startled him when he spoke.
"I got it," Dan said. Phil quickly turned his head, relaxing when he saw it was only him. "I got the name we needed."
Phil looked his boyfriend up and down. His hands were covered in blood, so Phil kept his gaze on his face. It was angry, maybe determined, but not anything Phil was afraid of. In reply he nodded to Dan, and Phil went to the van to wait for him.
-
The next part of the mission was to retrieve the bomb. Phil wasn't sure why the League would want it, but he was positive it wasn't for a good reason.
After taking their first victim to the Clean-Up Crew the two drove to their next destination. They were both doing the dirty work this time, and so they parked a block away from the home where the bomb supposedly was being kept.
From the back of the van they each took a rifle, the large gun never ceasing to make Phil nervous. He couldn't pull the trigger, if he did he'd hear that dreadful sound. That loud noise that sentenced someone to death.
Phil shook away all his anxieties and pulled his mask down over his face. With Dan by his side, he had to believe that everything would go according to plan.
Stealthily the two crept to the front door of the two story house. It was the kind of house Phil imagined him and Dan buying in the future, when they settled down and started getting ready to start a family.
Phil kneeled down so he was eye level with the door knob. He might not have been good at many criminal skills, but he was very good at picking locks. Whenever the violence became too much he'd go sit with the nice instructor lady who taught him hundreds of ways to pick locks.
Once the door was unlocked, Phil stepped back and let Dan lead the way. They both kept their guns trained ahead of them. The house was lit, like someone was home.
They passed through the kitchen and living room, finding no one. Their first priority was to secure anyone that was in the house. After sweeping the first floor, Phil followed Dan up the stairs to the second. Dan listened closely, opening every door they came across. Through the next one he could hear rustling. He signaled to Phil and they got on either side of the door. Dan turned and swung it open running in and pointing his gun at the first thing he saw.
A man was sitting on the bed, and the room was a mess. He held his hands up in surrender, smirking at the sight of the two.
"I knew the League would find me," he said.
"Where's the bomb?" Dan demanded.
"Quick to the point, eh? Did the League send their best for this one? I didn't think I was so important."
"Tell us where the bomb is, and I let you go."
"Don't threaten me with my life. It's not something I value a lot."
"Go look for it," Dan said to Phil. He nodded and left the room to search for the item. "Where were we?"
Dan closed the door and slipped off his mask. He walked closer to the man, who lowered his arms and looked Dan in the eyes.
"You look just like your father," the man smirked.
"My father?" Dan questioned.
"Had the pleasure of meeting him almost twenty years ago. You look a lot like him."
"Much to my disadvantage," Dan replied, earning a chuckle from the man.
"I'm sure you're just like him, too," the man said.
"That's where you're wrong," Dan said with a shake of his head.
"I can see it in your eyes, you're one and the same."
"No, we're not."
The door opened behind them, but Dan was boiling over with rage.
"I bet you even kill just as nonchalantly as he," the man continued
"I. Am. Not. My. Father."
The man laughed, turning gears inside Dan's brain. He yelled a long cry and pulled the trigger of his gun, firing more than enough rounds at the man.
When he stopped shooting he stood for a moment, thinking about what he had just done. He heard whimpers coming from behind him and his heart broke at the sight of Phil.
Dan's boyfriend had his hands to his ears, and his eyes shut. Soft noises came from him, and Dan quickly ran to him to hold him in his arms.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He whispered in Phil's ear again and again.
They stayed there until the uniformed Clean-Up Crew started coming into the room. Dan tried to coax Phil off the floor, but when he refused to stand up Dan picked him up like he was a toddler and carried him to the van.